A farmer was fined &#xA3;7,500 for a safety blunder behind the death of a young worker crushed by a forklift truck.

Sean Dodds, 24, was using the machine to move crates of potatoes in a barn at Red House Farm, Hepscott, near Morpeth when the tragedy happened almost two years ago.

But he had never been properly trained to operate the truck, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

And when he drove a load with the forks fully raised, the machine was so unstable it toppled on to its side.

Mr Dodds, a seasonal hand at the family run farm, was killed when the steel cab cage crushed his neck and face.

He had never been given professional forklift training, available at just &#xA3;80-&#xA3;90 a day, the court heard. Farmer James Thompson admitted breaching health and safety regulations by failing to make sure Mr Dodds and another employee had received the correct training.

Judge John Milford said he sentenced on the basis the married 41-year-old thought his own tuition was sufficient.

Thompson, &#xA3;1,000 overdrawn at the bank, was also ordered to pay &#xA3;2,500 towards the costs of the case.